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Good evening, dear brothers and sisters. Welcome. It is a divine blessing for me to be here and to share a glimpse of yoga. Many of you know yoga. Nowadays, wherever humans live, yoga is there. Slovakia has a long tradition of yoga. It is designed for a better human life, for the protection of other creatures and the environment, to be happy, and finally to realize the aim of life. This evening we will have some practical demonstrations and practices you can do with me. Let's begin with what yoga actually is. It is said in the oldest scriptures, the Vedas, that one word is called śūnyākāśa. Śūnyā means completely empty—a wide space, no movement, no light, nothing. Śūnyākāśa, then it is anantabhāmanda, the endless. And then there is the term Ānanda Brahma—emptiness, infinite emptiness, only space. This space is said to be the body of the mother. The Upanishads said first, "Mātṛ devo bhava"—the mother is the first god, the mother is the first divine one. The space. Then it is said, "Chetanya"—consciousness. The space is filled with consciousness. That’s called hiraṇya garbha, described as a golden egg within the space. Between these two, space and consciousness, there are some energies, some principles which balance both together. So yoga is a balancing principle. Where there is balance, there is harmony. So yoga is a harmonizing principle. And where there is harmony, there is unity. So yoga means union. Literally, yoga means union. The balance, the harmony, and the unity—that is the definition of yoga. Now, that golden egg, Hiraṇyagarbha, or cosmic consciousness, within that is a tendency, an energy. In the very beginning, it is said, "eko’haṁ bahusyāmi," like desire, the divine will: "I am one, and now I will multiply myself in the universe." That awakening of that feeling through the sound we call Oṁ, which I was chanting in the beginning. There are three letters: akāra, ukāra, makāra—past, present, future; the creator, protector, and liberator; sattva, rajas, and tamas guṇas. Many of you know, because you are practitioners of yoga. It is said, ananta brahmāṇḍa śāstra sūrya—endless universe and thousands of sun systems. The yogic consciousness, the yogic intellect through samādhi or meditation, could reach two thousand one hundred different sun systems, different universes. That cosmic consciousness in Sanskrit we call Parameśvara—Param Īśvara, the supreme, the highest. Then our sun system, our solar system, is called the Īśvara. And our body of God is called Ātmā. These all three are one; that’s called our Self. The soul is not a Self; the soul is individual, and Ātmā is the universal. So self-realization, knowing thyself, is the highest achievement and liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The creator which created our planet created 8.4 million different creatures, divided into three categories: culture, culture, nature. The creatures in the water, on the earth, and in the space—these are all different kinds of creatures: 8.4 million. If you don’t believe, then begin to count and tell me next time when I come. One of them from the 8.4 million is a human. Only one. The human has got a very powerful tool, and that’s called the intellect. Human intellect also needs education. The capacity of the human intellect is also endless. Therefore, humans can understand and can find the solution to become free or to solve their problems. Therefore, the human realized what the Self is. What is the soul? What is the intellect, the consciousness, the memory, the mind, the emotion, the thoughts, the body, and so on? It is the yogīs who, in great detail, explained everything beautifully. There comes one very interesting point: that’s karma. You may say, "Do good, face good; do bad, get bad." So karma—the cause, the action, and the result. Whatever we do—drinking, eating, walking, talking—it has its cause. According to that, we are acting. Where there is action, there will be reaction. Bad actions will lead us to destruction, what you here call sin. So the sins are the bad karma, and the puṇya is the good karma. Now, the individual soul—we are many, but as ātmā, we are one. Eko Brahma, dvitīyā nāsti. Only one is reality, one is the truth. Where there are two, there is duality. Now these individual souls have become victims of destiny, and destiny is the result of our past deeds in this life or in past lives. Good deeds have good destiny, and bad deeds have bad destiny. We as humans know that there is God. Every religion believes in a different way. It’s good. Every child says, "My mother is the best mother in the world." So, which mother is not a good mother? So it doesn’t matter in which way you believe in God. There are some people who don’t believe in God in that way in which most religions believe. What we call atheists—I wouldn’t say that they are bad people. They are very honest, very correct. Only they don’t believe how you believe. They do the good things. And at least they believe that they don’t believe. So who are we to judge someone? Our judgment can be wrong, and that will cause negative karma for us. The individual soul is fluttering on the waves of time through the entire universe, sometimes through the darkness and sometimes through the light, experiencing happiness or unhappiness, pain or pleasure. This life is continuing. For a while, we came and stuck on this planet. Through these five elements, we manifested ourselves in this body. This body is just given for a limited time. And one day again we will leave this body and continue the endless journey. Nothing will go with us: our house, our money, our land, our profession, our friends, our partner, parents—no one will go with you. That is the bitter truth. We came alone, we are alone, and we will travel alone, victims of destiny. So the yogī said, "Utilize the time being a human. Come to know thyself." Who are you? I’m not this body. It’s my body. I’m not this dress, it’s my dress, my feelings, my thoughts, but who is constantly saying, "It’s mine"? And that is sitting in you, that is the divine Self. Even we say, "My soul." Let’s make one experiment, if you want to do it, do it: where that Self is residing. If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. After, you will be sorry. Then there is nothing like miracles. I will ask, "To whom belongs this book?" The answer is verbally "mine," or raising a hand up means "mine," or we will touch somewhere on the body, indicating "mine," as I said. Where will you touch? That time, your hand... we are very clever, all to imitate. Therefore, close your eyes now, please, if you want to do. Nothing will happen, don’t worry. Please, technician, don’t make noise through your microphone. So close the eyes and raise your right hand up. If you keep your eyes open, you will have the wrong experience. So please close your eyes. Someone who does not understand the language means I lead down. Close your eyes. Now I am asking, to whom does this book belong? Do not open your eyes. Touch your index finger to your body. Mostly you said, "My." So, please touch your hand or your finger there on your body and leave it there. When you will tell him, "Somewhere it’s mine," I say, "Where will you put your hand now?" Leave your hand there where you are touching your body. Open your eyes and look, where is your hand? Otvorte na srdci. From the heart, the heartly greetings. Did you ever write a brain greeting? When the brain greeting comes, then search for a lawyer. So, here we are. So, the aim of a yogī is to get realization, liberation, and so on. But how? Through human life. Therefore, human life is very precious. We are the protectors on this planet. So we should have a long, long life. We should have a healthy life. And therefore, it is said, practice something to be healthy. So there are two things: exercises, different exercises, and the balance. First, a sāttvic, vegetarian diet. If you would like to be healthy and to become free from bad karma, then diet and movement—these two will keep your body healthy. And when the body is healthy, then your mind will be more relaxed and balanced. Mind. Mind is that which coordinates between the subconscious and the conscious. Mind is something bringing information through our senses of knowledge to the subconscious. And mind is that which brings the desire from subconscious to the conscious, to harmonize through focusing of yoga. Yoga in Daily Life has very balanced, scientific movements. No challenges, no competitions. Only practice and enjoy. Enjoy a healthy, happy, long life. Physical, mental, social, spiritual health. Through which your spirituality will grow. And for that, I would like to invite today the demonstrators. The demonstrator is only PowerPoint for you, okay? PowerPoint. Moment. Počkej, počkej. How many are you? Four. Two here. Two here and two here. Remove the flowers. Can you go a little back? Thank you. Very good. Here and one here. Friend of Mahāprabhujī, yes, good. One here and one here. I know many of you are yoga practitioners. But maybe there are some brothers and sisters here who didn’t practice. In Košice, there are many, many yoga classes. Yoga and Daily Life and some other yoga. There are many good yoga teachers here, but maybe someone is here for the first time. So this is a practical session now. Always try to wear natural material dress, so that your body can breathe properly. Always have a loose dress so that your body can breathe better. It’s ventilating automatically. Have a long dress to protect your skin from pollution and from direct sun exposure. It’s very wrong to have very short dresses. Especially nowadays, ladies hardly have a dress on their body, that’s not good for their health. Further, I will not tell. Yoga practices, the best is morning. Morning, it is said, more fresh air and less pollution, and the consciousness is awakening. The whole entire nature is awakening, and you finished your exercises. The whole day, you need not be worried that you didn’t practice. Anytime, whenever you find the time, practice. But only practice after three or four hours of eating. There is only one posture, which is Vajrāsana, that you can do. Sit like this after eating. This Vajrāsana is a blessing for the body. There is a Vajranāḍī going through, passing from the big toe and second toe. It connects to our brain activities, which means it releases the tensions. A person who has depression, is aggressive, unhappy, full of stress, or very tired, this posture will help you within a few minutes to gain energy again. Always begin your exercises with relaxation, so please lie down. This is called Ānanda Āsana, the blissful, happy position. In some books, it is translated as śavāsana. It means like a dead body. In 1976, there was one professor, about 75 years old or a little more than that. And he came to me to practice yoga. So I gave him a yoga class. He wanted to have a private one. And I introduced him to this position. I said, "Śavāsana." And you know, as a professor, he wrote everything. He went to the market and bought a yoga book. And in one book, he looked at the Śavāsana, and there was written, "dead body." Two thirty in the night. He called me. "Sorry, sir, but I can’t sleep. I have so much fear of death. And someone told me to practice yoga so that I will overcome. But you taught me again about death." I said no. In the wrong translation, so I gave the name Ānanda Āsana, bliss. Then again he came to me. He said, "You know, I married one woman, a girl. She is 25 years old. And I want to become young again. That’s why I’m practicing yoga. Can you teach me something so that I will be young again?" I said, "Yes, I cannot teach you, but I can advise you, tell you something. After your death, in the next life, you will be young." He said, "Again, you tell me about death." So people have a lot of expectations. Respect your ease. It is not easy, my dear. To get grey hair. You have to wait long to be worthy to have grey hair. As grey hair, that much wise you are. This worldly desire has no end. Therefore, be happy. Anyhow, relax. Now you will relax with me, okay? So, if it’s possible, take off your shoes, and you can lean on your chair and place your hands on your thighs. Follow my instructions. Then you move this away and lift it apart. When you come home, or before your yoga exercise, please do this relaxation. It will relax your whole body. And I will give you strength. So, close your eyes. Zavrite oči. Uvoľnite sa. To relax. Relax your toes. Feel your foot soles. Press your feet. Relax your legs. Uvolnite nohy. Relax the trunk of the body. Uvolnite trup. The stomach muscles, relax. And also relax the muscles on the abdomen. Relax your elbows, shoulders, neck muscles. Relax your jaw, face muscles, and lips. Just relax. Relax the whole body from the toes to the top of the head and from the top of the head to the toes. Just relax. Relax the whole body from the toes to the top of the head and from the top of the head to the toes. Just relax. No tensions at all, physically or mentally. Become aware of the breath process. Do not change the breath rhythm. Let it flow. The breath is as natural as it is. Just become aware that you know you are breathing in and you are breathing out. Relax the whole body and feel the breath. Follow the breath rhythm. I know that I am inhaling, and I know that I am exhaling. Uvolnite sa. And at the time of the exhalation, your body is exhaling all kinds of toxins. Feel the regeneration of the body. At the time of the inhalation, the trunk of the body is expanding slightly. And at the time of the exhalation, contract it. Consciously try to relax each and every limb of the body. Relax, my friend. Relax. Let me be one with myself. All the tensions disappear. Let your thoughts be free. Just take time for relaxing. Body. Relax the breath. Your mind becomes free from all the restless thoughts. And your soul, your personal being, is released from the stress. Harmonizing of body, mind, consciousness, and soul. Relax, feel the whole body from the toes to the top of the head, from the top of the head to the toes. Body is relaxed, comfortable. And full of life force. And now, deep inhale slowly. Slowly exhale. Inhale and exhale. Now, while inhaling, become extrovert. And while exhaling, feel the limbs of your body. Contract and stretch your toes. Fingers. Pull your toes toward the body and stretch your feet. Close the fists and rotate your wrists, and slowly move your shoulders up. Stretch up and down, and rotate your shoulders and palms together. And grab your palms, and place the hands on the face, warm your face muscles, and move the hands. Open the eyes, please. This you can take as a meditation. This you can take as a relaxation. Whenever you feel tired, this will give immense energy. And then you begin your yoga exercises slowly. Now, you can do it with us then. So, please sit up, demonstrators. Now, we have to stand up. First, look to the demonstrator. And then you will do so. While inhaling, slowly stretch the head. Hands up above the head. You, not. Interlock the thumbs. Stretch the arms. A little bit, look up. You’re not. All of you are straight. Don’t. And now, slowly, while exhaling, bring the hands down. Of we all together, it’s not very hard, it’s very simple. Anywhere you can do. So, inhale. Interlock the thumbs. Stretch the body up. Slightly look up and exhale slowly, hands down. It is simple, but very powerful. It stretches our muscles. It is regulating the circulation in the arms. Of course, some may have problems with the shoulders and cannot do it. They have to consult with their yoga teacher. Once more, inhale. Now we try sideways. You can turn in the middle. Face this side. You look this side, you look this side, okay? Thank you. Now, hands should go sidewards up. One. Slowly, and pull the palms. And slowly, hands down. One. Stretch your hands up. Two. Turn to my side. Tired? Yes? Okay. It’s fine. Interlock the fingers. Stretch the hands up. Go on the toes. Stand on the toes. And hands on the head. And with the toes down. Without shoes would be better, ladies. One. Stretch. Stand on the toes. And two, one. Legs apart. And hands behind the neck. Deep inhale. Exhale and bend a little bit to the left side, left side. And try to look to your right elbow. Inhale. Come to the middle. Exhale to the right side. Inhale to the middle. Exhale to the left. Inhale in the middle. Exhale left. Inhale in the middle, and release your hands. We don’t need hand standings, we need leg standing. So they are extremely difficult exercises. They are only for young, flexible people or those who have been practicing for many, many years. Yoga in Daily Life is generally for all. Now, I will give two more exercises to improve immunity in the body and reduce the toxins from the body. There is a practice called Kaṭhūprāṇām. It’s not Sūrya Namaskār. It’s not Guru Namaskār. It’s not Chandra Namaskar. It’s Kathupranam. The exercise itself will explain to you how good it is. So, you come to the front, so that all can see you. This is Vajrāsana. If I give you commentary on every posture, it will take a long time. Vajrāsana is a beautiful posture. Naturally, automatically, our spine is straight. It means our shoulders are automatically relaxed. It means our neck is relaxed. Tension is relaxed, released. The entire trunk is relaxed. The lungs expand, getting more volume for the oxygen. The stomach is relaxed, so the digestive process becomes very smooth and natural. So there are many, many benefits only from this one posture. It makes one concentrated. It removes the rest of the thoughts. So all postures of Ghaṭu Praṇām have got immense benefits for the body. Every muscle is stretched or pressed, and the chakras in the body, the energy centers, are purified. It means the whole body is regenerating. Immunity becomes stronger, the capacity of the movements to gain the energy in the body, and it’s a very dynamic movement. Yoga has three exercises: dynamical movements, stretching, and postures. And katuprāṇam is combined with all these three. So, one, two, if anyone has depression, anyone has psychic problems, or is restless, or very tired, this posture is one of the best. Not difficult. Everyone can do it. Even the small children you find in the cradle, they are sleeping like this. Gently, the back muscles are stretched. It’s called Śaśāṅkāsana, rabbit posture. It is very relaxing, and it is good for the kidneys, for the liver, and for our digestion. Now you can see how the muscles are stretched or depressed. Four, this is like a Bhujaṅgāsana, cobra posture. Some people do so much, it goes back side. That’s not good for your spine. It’s good for young people. But Bhujaṅgāsana is only that much. The best pūjaṅgāsana is when our abdomen is touching the ground. When a cobra is scared or angry, then it stands up like this. Otherwise, he is peacefully on the ground. So this posture calms down our aggression. Five, the heels touching the ground. And you can feel how the muscles are stretching. And the more blood circulation is towards the head. And this also, these exercises, Kathuparnam trains our shoulders and our muscles. Six, seven, eight, nine, eleven, they are my best Yoga in Daily Life teachers. Twelve, thirteen. And you know why they are best? Because they practice every day, and they are Slovakian. Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. Many people do this, five to ten rounds, at lunch time. In summer they go to the park, in the winter to some rooms. In many countries, the company sends their workers at lunch time to practice yoga, or they have a yoga room in their company. They employ the yoga teachers, so a yoga teacher comes for half an hour and then goes to the other company. So how can we also create the jobs? I forgot which number this is. So, nine, after that you relax. After five rounds, three rounds, four rounds. Now, the final, the third practical instruction which you will get now, it’s called the regenerating of energy in the cells, blood cells, through the nāda yoga, the yoga of the sound. The seat of the sound is in the Maṇipūra cakra in the navel. Awakening of the sound takes place from the navel to the throat, and is formulated through the lips and tongue. The technique which we do will go through the whole spinal column, the energy up. Sound will divide into three parts. One which goes into the space, second it will enter into the heart, and third into the whole body. Each blood cell is regenerated by that sound, and all the negative energy is purified, or the ill cells are either rejected or regenerated. Well, that’s mantras. Mantra means a good word. Good words make you happy and others. If you tell someone, "Dear sir, please be so kind. Can you do this for me?" The man will be very happy. Even he doesn’t want to do it, but he will do it because you are so perfect. The mantra which you speak now, "Dear sir, please be so kind, can you do for me? Thank you." It’s not a beautiful mantra? It will create a happy atmosphere. And instead of saying this negative mantra, "Hey, bloody stupid one, do it." Mad man. What will happen? Oh my God. You know what kind of energy will be created? So the best mantra is to create a sweet language. You lose nothing, and from your mind, from your brain, remove all the negative words. That’s the mantra. So, there is one mantra that is indicating to our Self, to our divine Self. I am not a body. I am not a mind. I am not these troubles. I am not ill. I am happy. My nature is happy. God is happiness. Everything is happy. Where happiness is divine, balanced, and pure. So I am happy. Ānandoham. Ānandoham. In your language it is RÁDOST MÁM. Beautiful thought? So, today we will sing a little differently. First, I will sing, and then you. Please sit straight. Concentrate on your spinal column. Keep your body relaxed. You see, this evening you have it, you have it, so use it or lose it. After half an hour, if you come here in this hall, nobody will tell you to relax. Because nobody is here, so use it, the chance, or lose it. Let’s do. Relax. Relax the whole body. Breathe deep in and out. And you will feel your whole body. The resonance that we will change will vibrate in the body. Happiness. Ānanda. Only this one word. Ānanda means bliss. Ham means "I." That’s all. Ānandoham. So, you may close your eyes, you may have open eyes. If you close your eyes, you will feel more. First I will chant. Then you join me. Slowly, relaxed. Ah. Ah. It means the happiness, the chakras, the eyes. The mind is the mighty power in our body. The mind needs guidance. Then the mind can become our greatest friend. Or the mind can be our worst enemy. The world is created out of the mind, and this mind is within ourselves. Every morning, get up one hour earlier and, very relaxed and peacefully, dedicate one and a half hours every day for your yoga. Then have your breakfast and go to work. You will be very happy, very healthy, very relaxed. Relaxed, you will have peace, harmony, and happiness in body, mind, and soul to practice Yoga in Daily Life. If you have no opportunity to find somewhere, if you are coming from some village, the Yoga and Daily Life book is created in such a way that it is a teacher itself. Thank you for your coming. Thank you for listening. I pray to God for your good health, harmonious, happy, and long life. I will end my speech with one mantra. All should be happy. No one should be unhappy. I should be happy. Dukha bhāg bhave oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ... Thank you for the demonstration. Thank you, and thank you. The organizers, the Košice Yoga and Daily Life, they did a great work, and they were waiting two years for me to come to Košice. I was looking forward to coming to Košice, so thank you to all the organizers, the technicians, and also there are some journalists. Thank you for your coming, and Vice Mayor, thank you, sisters, and brothers, thank you. Once more, practice yoga. It will help you, and God bless you. Good night.